After the earthquakes in the spring of 2015 that left a country in shambles, 4 current and former serving members of the Canadian forces (and members of The Guardians Society) assembled and decided they would commit to doing their part in aiding this tragedy.
Tony Clemente, David DiTommaso, Filipe Neto, and Matthew Richard all met through their training in the CF as reservists. They got together a month after the quakes, and decided to find a project that they could dive into, start raising money for, and eventually travel to Nepal and provide a hands on approach that would be life changing for both themselves and the people they are trying to help.
Matthew, having traveled to Nepal twice before, had trustworthy networks that he could reach out to there. His good friend Shiba Hari Rijal, of The Ganesh Himal Community Foundation had the perfect project for them. One of the areas that was effected the most from the earth quakes was the Dhading District. Shiba, being born and raising in one of the remote villages in the Dhading District, had already started planning to rebuild The Shree Bhumi School, that was almost completely destroyed. After going over the plans, the group made a decision that this would be the project to focus on and raise money for. It being a school for children would also allow them to promote the project under The Guardians Society. Matthew founded this non-profit in 2013 after his first trip to Nepal, and its mission is to empower youth all over the world and to inspire positive change for our future.
From the beginning of June, right up until the end of December, the team worked hard at planning 4 local fundraisers, started a gofundme page, and reached out to their personal friends and family in hopes of supporting the school. With the help of the Port Credit Legion, The Rotary Club, and a few other local organizations, they were able to extend the word out and gain the support they were aiming for.
By Christmas time they sat down again and knew it was time to plan the trip. All the money donated would be going directly to the school, and any travel expenses they had were out of their own pocket. All being very busy in their own careers, it was very tricky to coordinate when they could all take time and afford almost a month off. That being said, Filipe was not able to align his schedule with the other 3 due to a commitment he had with his army unit, but amazingly enough was able to join Team Rubicon on a mission trip to Nepal just after the other 3 would plan on returning from theirs.
David, Tony and Matt booked their tickets by the beginning of January, and by the end of February began their journey from one side of the world to the other. Arriving in Nepal at different times, each took the first part of their trip to explore how different and beautiful this country really is. Afterwards, reforming in the country's Capital, Kathmandu, they aligned with Shiba for a final day to gather supplies, and plan a life changing event they would never forget.
The following morning started very early before sunrise where a jeep Shiba arranged would pick them up at their guesthouses in the Thamel market, and begin its way out of the urban city. After 10 hours of rough, mountain and jungle terrain, they reached the village just before sundown, and just enough time to see the progress that had been made on the school.
After 10 long months of fundraising and planning for this trip, they could not believe their eyes. There in front of them stood the building, 95% complete, and for the first time actually felt real. Being involved with many overseas projects before but never having visited them, really made this something special. After a quick visit and tour of the school with the headmaster and some of the other people involved, they proceeded to their accommodations before dark.
Being Shiba's home town, his uncle, aunt and nephew were kind enough to take them into their home for the entire time the team stayed in the village and provided them with hospitality like no other. These people not knowing anything about them, treated them as if they were family and showed them the true meaning behind Nepali friendship.
Throughout that week, the team was able to become hands on with the construction, work and play with the children, and get to know many of the villagers. Being the first foreigners to ever volunteer in the village, made quite the culture shock for not only the team, but for the locals as well.
Coming here also allowed them to understand more of Shiba's plans and vision for the school and his organization. After the main part of the school is completed for the new semester at the end of March, he would like to provide the opportunity that Matt, Tony and David had, to others who are looking to volunteer and experience what they were fortunate enough to see and do. He would also like to continue raising money as there are still secondary buildings that need to be repaired, and also to hire better quality teachers to give these village children the best education available to them in order to give them the options they need to succeed in whatever their dreams may be someday...
Matthew Richard, Executive Director for The Guardians Society had this to say, "The people of Nepal are heavily influenced by Tibetan culture, and despite being directly in between two powerhouse countries like India and China, they are able to remain so peaceful and full of hospitality and joy. Every time I return to Nepal it is just as magical as the first time, and that is why I have fallen in love with this beautiful country. At this time these wonderful people need our help and we will do whatever we can to support them in their time of crisis and redevelopment. We are very fortunate to have the economy and infrastructures in place that we have, and to not share that just seems selfish. All it takes is to have the opportunity to help someone in need and take action, for this world to become a better place. The world isn't going to save itself is it? Namaste."
The Guardians Society will continue to raise money for the school to help with sustainability, and is collecting donations on their gofundme page. You can also check out The Ganesh Himal Community Foundation and The Guardians Society on their direct websites as well.
Tony Clemente, David DiTommaso, Filipe Neto, and Matthew Richard all met through their training in the CF as reservists. They got together a month after the quakes, and decided to find a project that they could dive into, start raising money for, and eventually travel to Nepal and provide a hands on approach that would be life changing for both themselves and the people they are trying to help.
Matthew, having traveled to Nepal twice before, had trustworthy networks that he could reach out to there. His good friend Shiba Hari Rijal, of The Ganesh Himal Community Foundation had the perfect project for them. One of the areas that was effected the most from the earth quakes was the Dhading District. Shiba, being born and raising in one of the remote villages in the Dhading District, had already started planning to rebuild The Shree Bhumi School, that was almost completely destroyed. After going over the plans, the group made a decision that this would be the project to focus on and raise money for. It being a school for children would also allow them to promote the project under The Guardians Society. Matthew founded this non-profit in 2013 after his first trip to Nepal, and its mission is to empower youth all over the world and to inspire positive change for our future.
From the beginning of June, right up until the end of December, the team worked hard at planning 4 local fundraisers, started a gofundme page, and reached out to their personal friends and family in hopes of supporting the school. With the help of the Port Credit Legion, The Rotary Club, and a few other local organizations, they were able to extend the word out and gain the support they were aiming for.
By Christmas time they sat down again and knew it was time to plan the trip. All the money donated would be going directly to the school, and any travel expenses they had were out of their own pocket. All being very busy in their own careers, it was very tricky to coordinate when they could all take time and afford almost a month off. That being said, Filipe was not able to align his schedule with the other 3 due to a commitment he had with his army unit, but amazingly enough was able to join Team Rubicon on a mission trip to Nepal just after the other 3 would plan on returning from theirs.
David, Tony and Matt booked their tickets by the beginning of January, and by the end of February began their journey from one side of the world to the other. Arriving in Nepal at different times, each took the first part of their trip to explore how different and beautiful this country really is. Afterwards, reforming in the country's Capital, Kathmandu, they aligned with Shiba for a final day to gather supplies, and plan a life changing event they would never forget.
The following morning started very early before sunrise where a jeep Shiba arranged would pick them up at their guesthouses in the Thamel market, and begin its way out of the urban city. After 10 hours of rough, mountain and jungle terrain, they reached the village just before sundown, and just enough time to see the progress that had been made on the school.
After 10 long months of fundraising and planning for this trip, they could not believe their eyes. There in front of them stood the building, 95% complete, and for the first time actually felt real. Being involved with many overseas projects before but never having visited them, really made this something special. After a quick visit and tour of the school with the headmaster and some of the other people involved, they proceeded to their accommodations before dark.
Being Shiba's home town, his uncle, aunt and nephew were kind enough to take them into their home for the entire time the team stayed in the village and provided them with hospitality like no other. These people not knowing anything about them, treated them as if they were family and showed them the true meaning behind Nepali friendship.
Throughout that week, the team was able to become hands on with the construction, work and play with the children, and get to know many of the villagers. Being the first foreigners to ever volunteer in the village, made quite the culture shock for not only the team, but for the locals as well.
Coming here also allowed them to understand more of Shiba's plans and vision for the school and his organization. After the main part of the school is completed for the new semester at the end of March, he would like to provide the opportunity that Matt, Tony and David had, to others who are looking to volunteer and experience what they were fortunate enough to see and do. He would also like to continue raising money as there are still secondary buildings that need to be repaired, and also to hire better quality teachers to give these village children the best education available to them in order to give them the options they need to succeed in whatever their dreams may be someday...
Matthew Richard, Executive Director for The Guardians Society had this to say, "The people of Nepal are heavily influenced by Tibetan culture, and despite being directly in between two powerhouse countries like India and China, they are able to remain so peaceful and full of hospitality and joy. Every time I return to Nepal it is just as magical as the first time, and that is why I have fallen in love with this beautiful country. At this time these wonderful people need our help and we will do whatever we can to support them in their time of crisis and redevelopment. We are very fortunate to have the economy and infrastructures in place that we have, and to not share that just seems selfish. All it takes is to have the opportunity to help someone in need and take action, for this world to become a better place. The world isn't going to save itself is it? Namaste."
The Guardians Society will continue to raise money for the school to help with sustainability, and is collecting donations on their gofundme page. You can also check out The Ganesh Himal Community Foundation and The Guardians Society on their direct websites as well.
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